Floor 1, Room 6

[annihilator]

MALICE

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Comments

[annihilator]

Yeah. He's...

[How does he put this...]

I've always been a vampire. Mika hasn't. So he's new to this, an' dealin' with it in his own way. He's strugglin' a lot right now, I think. So I wanna help him out, y'know?

[he adopted a babby vampire, whoops]

His situation's real different from mine, so it's not fair to judge it the same way I'd judge someone from my world, I think.

[lighthaus]

[ khun regards malice's explanation with a smile that's softer than his usual. ]

Despite your name, you're a good person, Malice.

[annihilator]

[...!! praise...?? wait he didn't do anything to deserve it, hold on—]

I'm really not. I've done some truly awful things.

[...]

But I do want to be a better person, I think. So uh, thanks?

[lighthaus]

You're welcome. [ praise isn't rare for khun, but it's not exactly common either. malice deserves it though! ]

But as for awful things, go ahead and try me if you like.

[annihilator]

[But that involves talking about it Khun... It's so hard when you're barely acknowledging that it was actually your own damn fault......]

...I was workin' with human rebels, but I betrayed 'em. I had a chance at power an' bein' accepted by other vampires an' I took it. It didn't end up workin' out, but I think I was regrettin' it even before things went south. The guy leadin' the rebels really trusted me an' kept sayin' I'd never cause them problems... an' I got him killed.

[how could this happen to him, etc]

[lighthaus]

[ his smile comes perhaps too easily. ]

But you regret it, which is the important thing. And you want to be a better person too.

[annihilator]

...Yeah, I do.

[It's easier to admit that now, but it still leaves him feeling... antsy? Frustrated? It's sort of hard to tell.]

At the very least I'm not interested in screwin' over any more humans - or anyone here, though I figure that goes without sayin'.

[lighthaus]

I'll say it again Malice, you're a good person. And a far better one than me.

[ :) ]

[annihilator]

[That smiling is starting to put him on edge, Khun!!!]

Now I'm curious. What did you do, exactly?

[He's not saying he's the absolute worst or anything, but betraying the people who took you in despite being a vampire is pretty scummy.]

[lighthaus]

[ ... ]

Before I answer: do you trust me, Malice?

[ meta text says Malice can probably feel the dialogue box up that says This Choice is Important. ]

[annihilator]

[Hmm!! Don't like that!! He can practically feel that this choice is super important!!]

Well, I kinda have'ta, don't I? We're workin' together toward a common goal, after all.

[Is that a good enough answer?]

[lighthaus]

Hah— [ a breathy exhale, light and breezy. khun's now flopped down entirely on malice's bed, spread out, eyes closed. ]

Do you remember what I told you about my sister, and her endeavor to become a Princess?

[annihilator]

[There he goes... flopped... Malice turns a bit, crossing his legs up on the bed as he watches Khun.]

Yeah, I do. What happened?

[lighthaus]

[ his eyes remain closed and he looks remarkably at peace for what he's about to say. more notable is the lack of inflection in his voice, not quite monotone or flat, but hollow and empty. ]

I was her tactician in that campaign, the one who advised her on her next moves and had her implicit trust. And I was the one who sabotaged her chance, on purpose.

And before you ask, I don't feel any guilt or remorse for it at all.

[annihilator]

[He can kind of tell from that tone of voice that Khun feels no guilt about it. But the question is why; there must be a reason behind it. Killing his own family... but then, Khun's family is very different from anything Malice has ever heard of before, so there's certainly more to the story here.]

Why'd you do that?

[lighthaus]

[ there's a lot of things he could say here that might make the context seem better, more sympathetic, more human.

but he's not going to say to them.

because as valid as those reasons might be, they're not the reason he acted the way he did. he wasn't pushed to the brink, and though his training was inhumane and cruel, he grew up bearing it and never knew anything else. at the heart of it, the reason he made the choice to betray his blood sister and his mother is— ]

There was something I wanted to see happen, so I made it into reality. It wasn't for the greater good or anything like that, but an entirely personal reason.

[ he opens his eyes then and sits up, deep blue pupils focused on the other wizard. ]

That's the kind of person I am, Malice. Who will do anything to achieve what he wants, no matter what that is, with no regard for who gets hurt in the process even if they die because of it. And that's why I know a thing or two about being a bad person and why you shouldn't trust me.

[annihilator]

Huh...

[It occurs to him that Khun doesn't need to warn him. It's not like Rosalie or Lotisse warned him before betraying him. (Though he really should have known better than to trust either of them...) And it brings back memories of telling Cody the same thing. You can't trust a vampire. You can't trust me.]

I appreciate the warnin'. But your goals... can you carry them out here? Or are you just workin' to get home, back to 'em?

[It's not judgmental. He does agree that what Khun did was terrible and that he sounds like a pretty bad person, but the most important thing is how it affects Malice. He'll keep the warning in mind, certainly, but if Khun has no interest in pursuing his goals here, then that likely means that he'll be willing to work alongside them.]

[lighthaus]

[ he smiles now, some of his usual energy seeping back into his voice. it's not a mask really, he certainly wouldn't have told malice any of this if it was, but more like a layer. sometimes it might be hard to see what he's like underneath, but he never really fully disguises it either. ]

I can't. But I think I can use what I'll learn here to achieve them back in my world.

[annihilator]

[Malice nods at that.]

Fair enough. I ain't got any issues with you as long as you ain't betrayin' me. But like I said, I do appreciate the warnin'.

[And just like that, it seems like everything's fine again on his end.]

I've got some unfinished business back home too, an' I'm lookin' forward to seein' what I can learn here that'll make that easier. 'Course, if I can take the magic back with me, that'd be great.

[lighthaus]

My family reputation usually precedes me in the Tower.

[ so it's less of a warning and more equal footing? malice has earned that at least. ]

Taking magic back would make this more than worth it, but even without it, I'm sure I'll have a few souvenirs to take back with me.

[annihilator]

[Hey, he'll take it! You didn't have to offer it, so he does appreciate it.]

Hah, be sure to get your hands on some good ones, then!

[lighthaus]

You too.

[ he leans back on the bed with both of his hands. ]

In light of all of that, I don't think I need to explain to you why I won't be offering my blood to you or anyone else. Even if I wanted to, I don't think it would be a good idea.

[ his blood is special given who his father is and for all he knows that would transfer and we probably do not need suped up vamps? ]

But I imagine you probably have a list of volunteers already.

[annihilator]

[We definitely do not need to give the vamps more powers!!]

I sure do. It's kinda crazy how many people volunteered? So yeah, I'll be just fine. Thanks for lettin' me know, though.

[lighthaus]

[ he sighs at that, genuinely sounding at least a little tired. ]

There's more kindhearted people here than I'm used to dealing with. We have our share of them in the Tower, but they're stuck in the Outer Tower.

[annihilator]

Same. I've known a few humans who are this kind back home, but...

[Well. They didn't last very long.]

The Outer Tower?